Casa de Garcia Magnum Bundle, Review by Ken York

I’m often asked about everyday cigars. The ones that you can light up, enjoy, and not worry about the cost. Face it, we’re not all made of money and generally can’t afford those beautiful 1964 Padrons on a daily basis. A favorite of mine are the Casa de Garcia bundles made by the Tabacalera de Garcia cigar factory in the Dominican Republic. José Seijas will not allow a bad hand-rolled cigar to come out of his factory. When tobacco leaves come into the factory, the tobacco bundles are pulled apart and re-graded. The tobacco that doesn’t meet Tabacalera de Garcia standards is shipped out and resold elsewhere. Having said all that, are these cigars on the same level as the H. Upmann Legacy cigars out of the same factory? No. But they are about as good as it gets for $2 a cigar.

The Casa de Garcia bundle cigars are light to medium cigars. I’ve been smoking the Magnum size lately and by the time you get to the end of one of those with their 60 ring gauge and 6 inch length you definitely have a buzz going. The flavor does build in intensity as you work your way through the cigar. They generally light and burn well. I did have one in a bundle of 20 burn so crazily that by the end it looked like I was in a cartoon after a firecracker went off in my cigar. That was the exception. The overall construction is solid, they smoke well and provide a tremendous satisfaction for the price.

Factor

Description

Possible Score

Score

Construction

Fresh out of the humidor, how does the cigar look? Are large veins evident in the wrapper? Does the cigar have a firm feel to it?

1-15

12

Band

Is the band an embarrassment that you wouldn’t want to smoke in public?

1-5

5

First Puff

How satisfying is the very first puff of the cigar?

1-10

7

Draw

Can the cigar be smoked without strain? Does it burn up too quickly?

1-15

14

Flavor

Does it achieve all three notes? Does the flavor come through to the smoker sufficiently?

1-20

16

Aroma

Is the aroma of the cigar while burning fragrant or offensive?

1-10

8

Ash/Burn

Does the cigar produce a solid ash? Is it flaky? Does it canoe?

1-10

7

Value

Bucks per puff. For the enjoyment is the cigar reasonably priced?

1-15

15

Possible Score

100

84

About Ken York

Ken York has written 19 posts in this blog.

Ken York is an international cigar writer. He was the unofficial travel correspondent for Cigar Magazine, which is now defunct (not his fault). His friends refer to him as the Dos Equis guy due to his wide range of experiences: Army, Air Force (with a week on an aircraft carrier too), linguist, reporter, actor, author, and he even has a bug named for him: Isoneuromyia yorki Evenhuis, a Vietnames predatory fungus gnat. He prefers medium-bodied cigar with a nice single-malt highlands scotch.